US Open 2022: Daniil Medvedev did a short job on Stefan Kozlov at the start

26-year-old Daniil Medvedev missed Wimbledon in early summer due to a ban on Russian and Belarusian players. At the US Open, Medvedev will meet French Arthur Rinderknech in the second round, who won 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 4), 6: 3, 6: 2 against Quentin Halles (France).

The world number one started the tournament with confidence against the stranger Kozlov (111th place). Although Medvedev lost serve twice and served only 54% of his first serve, the Russian player was always in control of the situation at the crucial moments of the match.

“The conditions were not easy,” he said after the match. “It’s very hot and the humidity is high. I tried to play hard and I think I succeeded.”

Medvedev sent in a total of 10 aces from three double faults and took advantage of eight of his 16 break opportunities. In the third set, Kozlov scored only eight points.

Medvedev with a new boxing strategy

Winners’ stats (40:14) and non-forced errors (20:23) also spoke in the end for world number one.

The tennis pro explained that there were only a few people he knew in the Players Box with a new philosophy. “I do it differently now — I just want to have people in the box to work with on a daily basis,” he said.

Medvedev has often been noticed in the past by arguments with his own fund. For example, coach Gil Cervara left the field at this year’s tournament in Halle after a speech from Russia.

Medvedev said in New York that he now only wants to see “people close to me” there, “because the box is very important to me. I try to distribute my best friends across the stands.”

Medvedev is one of the candidates for this year alongside 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. Last year, the Moscow native celebrated his biggest success yet with a final victory over Novak Djokovic, who was absent this time.

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